Mumm-Rana's Belt
Mumm-Rana's Belt is an episode from the original series of ThunderCats. Written by James Rose, it originally aired on September 28, 1987. Official Summary Long ago on Third Earth, Mumm-Rana and evil Queen Luna, Luna's grandmother, battled for possession of a Magic Belt, which Queen Luna used to enslave Wollos, Berbils, and other peoples of Third Earth. Mumm-Rana exiled Queen Luna to the Third Moon of Plun-Darr forever. As Snarf tells this story to the ThunderCats, Luna overhears him and travels to Mumm-Rana's White Pyramid in search of the Belt. Pumyra pursues her to the White Pyramid where Luna defeats Mumm-Rana, steals the Belt and incarcerates Pumyra. With the Belt, Luna plans to enslave the Mutants, destroy Mumm-Ra and eliminate the ThunderCats. Spurning Amok, her trusty companion, Luna transforms into Princess Luna and executes the Belt's powers of evil. Without the Belt, Mumm-Rana remains in a sleep-state within her sarcophagus and the good power of the White Pyramid are weakened. Amok, angered with Luna's desertion, crashes against the walls of the White Pyramid from which a trapped Pumyra escapes. At the height of the battle between Luna, the ThunderCats, and Mumm-Rana, the Magic Belt falls from Luna's grasp. When Luna requests that Amok retrieve it for her, he refuses and destroys the Belt instead. Amok tells Luna he would rather have their companionship reinstated than serve her and the evil powers of the Magic Belt. Luna agrees and their friendship is rekindled. Official Moral Luna captures from Mumm-Rana an ancient mystical belt her ancestor Queen Luna once used for evil purposes. Calling on its powers, she is transformed into the Princess Luna, with the heightened potency of evil of her grandmother the Amazon Queen. Inflated by this new power, Luna plans to take control of Third Earth by enslaving the Mutants, destroy Mumm-Ra, and eliminate the ThunderCats. She rejects her companion Amok as unnecessary and beneath her new stature. But Amok, who is hurt by this rejection at the hands of his friend and master, ends up helping to foil Luna's plans. First, he vents anger on Mumm-Rana's pyramid and weakens the sealed wall, which allows Pumyra to escape. Then, coming upon the battle between Luna and the ThunderCats and Mumm-Rana, he is faced with a choice. The belt has become dislodged from Luna, and she asks Amok to restore it for her. In a decisive act, however, he destroys the belt and offers instead to Luna that they return to their former symbiotic friendship. She accepts and, united again, they escape from the ThunderCats. One aspect of what real friendship means is that friends remain loyal even when external conditions change for better or worse in their lives. Friendship is based not on external circumstances, but on the essential intrinsic relationships between persons. When one suffers misfortune, like illness or some other loss, it is important that friends do not abandon him or her. Or, conversely, when one changes in some way for the better, he or she should remain loyal to old friends. Changes like our family acquiring money, or are developing a new interest or talent, meeting new friends, or gaining some recognition can alter our lives. One danger of change like this is that, like Luna, we can become inflated in our opinion of ourselves and grow so overconfident that we are tempted to leave behind our friends. But that is being insensitive to what we mean to them and how they feel about us. And often it is counterproductive to ourselves as well. The friends we have confirm our own internal identity, not the outward conditions of our lives. In rejecting friends, we have lost persons who help bring meaning to our lives. In maintaining our true and loyal friends, no matter how conditions vary in each other's lives, we preserve an important part of what is of lasting value to us. Summary Upon learning that her grandmother's Magic Belt is with Mumm-Rana, Luna quickly and forcefully takes it back, gaining phenomenal powers. Story Many years ago, Luna’s grandmother, Queen Luna, spread terror across Third Earth thanks to the power bestowed upon her by the Magical Belt of the ancients. The belt gave her such phenomenal powers that she was able to enslave the inhabitants of Third Earth like the Wollos and the Berbils. Even the Warrior Maidens were no match for her. The only being capable of challenging Queen Luna was Mumm-Rana. The good sorceress took the belt from Queen Luna and banished her to the Third Moon of Plun-Darr. Since then Mumm-Rana had been the guardian and keeper of the Magical Belt, and as long as the belt was in her possessions, Third Earth was safe. When Luna hears Snarf telling this story to the ThunderKittens and Pumyra, she decides to get the belt from Mumm-Rana. Pumyra spots Luna and Amok and follows her all the way to the White Pyramid via the Desert of Lava Geysers. Luna and Amok reach the pyramid first, destroy one of its obelisks and take the Magical Belt from the now powerless Mumm-Rana. The now powerful “Princess Luna” easily defeats Pumyra and orders Amok to bury her in the walls of the pyramid. Having no need to ride on Amok anymore, Luna spurns him. Feeling angry at being abandoned, Amok smashes the walls of the pyramid which allows Pumyra to escape. Princess Luna then heads to Castle Plun-Darr and orders Slithe and Monkian to set a trap for the ThunderCats. The trio ambush Lion-O and Panthro on a rocky mountain pass. Lion-O barely manages to use the Sword of Omens to repair Mumm-Rana’s Pyramid, restoring her power. The sorceress then arrives at the scene and blasts the belt away from Luna, reducing her back to her midget state. The belt falls near Amok who, instead of giving it back to Luna, throws it into a canyon so that Luna has no choice but to reconcile with him. Characters Vehicles Locations Trivia Goofs Notable Quotes Media This episode was released on the following media: DVD * Season 2 Volume 1 DVD * Season 2 DVD * Seasons 1 & 2 DVD Episode Screenshots External Links *ThunderCats 1985 cartoon series on Wikipedia *ThunderCats on ThunderCats.org Category:Thundercats: 1980s TV episodes Category:ThunderCats episodes written by James Rose Category:Season 2 (ThunderCats 1980s)